Dear Editor,

What is happening in the Halifax Avenue and Kings Drive, Kingston 6, community?

A community that I have called home for over 30 years has become a zone of demolition and high-rise construction without regard for the character of the neighbourhood; the environment; and the carrying capacity of utilities, drainage, and existing infrastructure.

Single-family structures have been demolished (I refer to the phenomenon as another one bites the dust) and are being replaced with large multi-family structures – lots stripped of grass; huge trees, such as mango trees, bulldozed; lush vegetation stripped; top soil ripped and replaced with concrete from boundary wall to boundary wall.

There is no notification/consultation with existing residents in the planning stages, and the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) and the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation have not posted permits and approvals in prominent places so that residents and the general public can have access. Meanwhile, sidewalks and roadways have been taken over, roadways are being damaged, sidewalks and verges are being used as extensions of site yards, and water mains rupture with the frequent traversing of heavily laden trucks transporting concrete and other building materials.

The change is rapid and nightmarish and there is no one to talk to. I am not against development, but the madness taking place is out of character, and there seems to be no overall development plan, just a haphazard rat race.

The community has one common ingress and egress – the intersection of Halifax Avenue and East Kings House Road. What is going to happen during peak hour traffic?

There is no provision for green/open spaces. Where will the children ride their tricycles? Where will they play? Where is the response to climate change resilience? Does the National Water Commission have capacity to provide water to accommodate the added demand? Is the existing sewer conveyance system adequate? Where will the increased run-off go? Will the damaged roadways be repaired? If so, when and by whom?

We need answers.

Marjorie Brown

rosemarie.brown1@gmail.com